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Suriyapperuma appointed DLB chairman (update)

Mr. S. A. P. Suriyapperuma who has held several senior positions in the public and the private sector in the past has been appointed as the chairman of the Development Lotteries Board by Minister of Finance and Media Mr. Mangala Samaraweera on the recommendation of President Mr. Maithripala Sirisena.

Mr. Suriyapperuma who had his primary education at the Kandapola Mahinda College later on entered The Poramadulla Central College and the Minuwangoda Central College for his secondary education. He holds an Honors degree in Business Administration (Special) from the Sri Jayawardenapura University.

He began his career as a Management Trainee at Bank of Ceylon and later on went onto be a Senior Manager at Seylan Bank and subsequently as a chief manager of the Seylan Bank Skylab.

Thereafter he was appointed as the Chairman of the Lanka Cement Company under the Ministry of Industries. He served as a Director of the Samurdhi Authority, and as an advisor to the Samurdhi Ministry. He was also appointed as a Director of the Coconut Development Authority and is a member of the Ayurveda Medical Council.

In the year 2004 after leaving the Government Sector he functioned as the 1st General Manager and also as a board member of Pyramid Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a company affiliated to Wilmar International (Singapore) a leading palm oil producer in the world. He was instrumental in introducing the process of refining Palm oil and the manufacturing of fats to the Sri Lankan Market for the 1st time.

In 2006 when disagreements relating to the export of Sri Lankan palm oil and fats cropped up under the Indo-Lanka free trade agreement. Mr. Suriyapperuma represented the private sector in the discussions between the two governments to sort out these issues. During these discussions he contributed immensely towards formulating a quota system in the export of fats to India under this free trade agreement.

He was also instrumental in assisting the International hotel chain Shangri-La which is affiliated to Wilmar International to enter the Sri Lankan market.

In 2012 he joined the parent company Wilmar International as the Director General Manager overlooking Wilmar Africa Business in Ghana. He also served as an Audit Committee member of Benso Oil Palm Plantation in Africa. He served in this capacity for 4 years while being based in Ghana. Thereafter he served as the Head of Business for Wilmar Olivine Industries in Harare Zimbabwe for 1 year till his return to Sri Lanka.

Mr. Suriyapperuma was also an economic and a financial analyst who has appeared on numerous TV programs and radio talk shows. He contributed articles relating to economics and finance for several national newspapers and was the creator and the script writer of the Weekly Economic Discussion program aired over the National Television Channel for a considerable period of time.

Meanwhile, former MP and Dewinuwara electorate organizer of the UNP - Mr. H.R. Wimalasiri too assumed duties as the deputy Chairman of the DLB.